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India-Pakistan
Osama fled to Peshawar after Tora Bora bombing
2003-12-17
Osama Bin Laden fled to Peshawar in December 2001 after surviving a massive US military assault on his Tora Bora base in Afghanistan, according to US intelligence and law-enforcement sources. A report in the Washington Times on Tuesday said Bin Laden reportedly left to meet Mulla Omar near Kandahar, Afghanistan, and later was believed to have moved into Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
That's what makes me take this report with a bit more than a grain of salt, assuming he's not worm food...
“Bin Laden is a hero to many of the autonomous tribes that live along the Pakistan-Afghan border and who support the hard-line vision of Islam promoted by the Al Qaeda founder, US intelligence officials say. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Al Qaeda’s operations chief, who was arrested on March 1 this year in Rawalpindi, reportedly gave conflicting information to Pakistan’s ISI, the CIA and the FBI as to whether Bin Laden was alive, and whether he had met him after the September 11 attacks.
Leading me to believe Binny's titzup...
The report recalled, “Pakistani intelligence officials, in an unusual briefing for foreign journalists at the time, said Shaikh Mohammed acknowledged during three days of interrogation at a safe-house after his arrest that he met Bin Laden in December 2002, though he did not say where. US and Pakistani officials retrieved numerous secret Al Qaeda documents and other information during Shaikh Mohammed’s interrogation. Included was a laptop computer used by Shaikh Mohammed that contained the names of at least a dozen safe houses located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border used by Bin Laden and his supporters, authorities said.”
Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#19  I thought Sadaam was dead twice and Chemical Ali once. OBL might be dead. I would be satisfied with collecting his number two or whoever is in charge currently.
Posted by: Super Hose   2003-12-17 9:38:17 PM  

#18  I'm not sure where the idea that the Balooch are friendly to the Islamists comes from. At this very moment there are reports of serious unrest in southeastern Iran as the Balooch battle with the regime's Pasdaran. Secondly, it is a dangerous journey from Tora Bora to the Balooch dominated Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan tri-border region. Third, rug purchasors have found the grasping Balooch would even sell their children for a few bucks. I still hold to the belief that OBL is a greasespot on an imploded cave at Tora Bora.
Posted by: Tancred   2003-12-17 7:59:08 PM  

#17  Mike: Thanks for the link to the Atlantic article. Fascinating!
Posted by: TPF   2003-12-17 7:13:27 PM  

#16  Then the Special Forces can play a nice rousing game of Buzkashi with what's left...
Posted by: seafarious   2003-12-17 12:26:03 PM  

#15  Albright replied: anything is possible you know, Bush is such a moronic, evil genius.
Posted by: B   2003-12-17 12:23:27 PM  

#14  "is this one of those Euro-thingys where we can't use our hands"

Hell,no! I'm talking about a old school NFL drop kick. Think punt by a quarterback on the run, you don't see it anymore. Of course, rugby players are welcome as well.
Posted by: Steve   2003-12-17 11:35:38 AM  

#13  Mark, I saw Mort on Fox news this morning and he said the same thing. When Kissinger was asked about it a bit later he said, 'there is something about George W. Bush that causes many to loose their good sense.' That's not a direct quote, but its pretty close. Kissinger is friends with Albright and he came just short of saying she's crazy when it comes to George W. Bush.

Bush Derangement syndrom is common on the left. It's actually funny to watch at times. Even the most mild things he does are thought to have the most milicious motives. When he does things the left should approve of they go bonkers even worse like the prescription drug bill.
Posted by: ruprecht   2003-12-17 11:08:52 AM  

#12  Tony -
FWIW, I believe he is what I like to refer as 'Oz Dead' - "Not only simply merely dead, but truly most sincerely dead."
Having said that, I truly thing the dumbest move anyone could ever make would be to admit it. Just seeing what the response to Saddam's capture has been convinces me that any proof that OBL was indeed at room temperature would be followed by global screams for an immediate Allied withdrawal from everywhere.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2003-12-17 10:51:38 AM  

#11  All I can say is if I were GW, I would look at my dad. Awesome military victory, out of office because a new guy can play the saxophone.

I hope he is sitting on obl.
Posted by: flash91   2003-12-17 10:50:46 AM  

#10  Steve - is this one of those Euro-thingys where we can't use our hands unless we're wearing the funny-looking jersey?
Posted by: .com   2003-12-17 10:50:42 AM  

#9  Let him star in the new reality series; "Running Man - New York".
Release him in the middle of Central Park, winner determined by whoever dropkicks his head into the Ground Zero crater.
Posted by: Steve   2003-12-17 10:22:12 AM  

#8  Oh, Mike. You are letting him off too easy!!
Posted by: alaskasoldier   2003-12-17 9:56:52 AM  

#7  I'm no expert by any means, but I agree that it's more probable than not that OBL is a wormstinking carcass at the bottom of some cave in Tora Bora.

If he is still kicking, I'd like to see the Peggy Noonan capture scenario, followed by a long and detailed mind-rape of an interrogation, followed by a little frontier justice.
Posted by: Mike   2003-12-17 9:42:13 AM  

#6  From the evidence, I believe him to be dead. However if he's not, what would be the best thing the US could do?

I know there's some guys at Rantburg that have a lot of experience in military and intelligence operations, so what those people think?

I just think that a very public trial could be counter-productive: the fact that he had survived a huge bombing by the US would be seized upon by Jihadis, let alone what the lawyers might do (OJ anyone?)

That leaves him to be swept away to someplace where he can be kept alive, drained of all information and disposed of when it suits (my preferred option).

Thoughts?
Posted by: Tony (UK)   2003-12-17 7:28:57 AM  

#5  What is wrong with these people?

You're asking a question that has several thousand answers.
Posted by: Charles   2003-12-17 7:13:39 AM  

#4  Don't know if anyone else saw this posted at the Corner blog at National Review's site: Morton Kondrake reports having had a personal conversation with Madelene Albright. Albirght asked Kondrake if he thought Bush already had Osama in custody and was going to announce his caputre at some future and politically opportune moment. Kondrake, taken back, asked her if she was really serious. Albright replied: It's possible you know. Anyone else think perhaps Albright has been reading too many posts at Democratic Underground.com ??? For Christ's sake the woman is a former Secretary of State. What is wrong with these people?
Posted by: Mark   2003-12-17 6:30:20 AM  

#3  Unless I'm mistaken, there have not been any "new and fresh" videos of OBL recorded since just before Tora Bora. I havn't put much stock in the audio tapes released since December, 2001.I'm of the opinion he is dead. Put another way, I havn't seen/heard evidence to prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that he is still alive.Having said this, if he is still alive, it would bring me great joy to see SF's capture and/or kill him and produce his body for the world to see. It would be a great day for America and a wonderful message to send to our enemies.
Posted by: Mark   2003-12-17 6:20:20 AM  

#2  Same thing here, in old Europe; one opinion aired by experts in various (relatively serious) tv debates is that OBL has been localized by US intelligence in a definite area, and that, so far, US leadership has declined to snatch him for strategical reasons. And now that presidential elections are coming, the benefit of neutralizing him is supposedly outweighting the disadvantages. So, more euro-conspiracy theory, or a possible big surprize for 2004? Assuming OBL is not already wormfood by now.
Posted by: Anonymous   2003-12-17 6:00:08 AM  

#1  Just heard on the really left wing news here in the land of Oz, that American intelligence has narrowed OBL's location down to a 100 sq kilometres. In mountainous terrain thats actually a smaller area than it seems because the routes you can move on are limited.

Could be a nice christmas present coming up.
Posted by: phil_b   2003-12-17 2:40:46 AM  

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